Kramer waiting list

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Andrew H

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Just a fun late night thread:
Are you on Kramer's waiting list, and if so how long have you been waiting for?

I have been signed up for right around 8 months.
 
Kramer is hyped ;)

Sure he his a nice guy and make great knives, but there are others making as good as or better knives than him. However I haven't tried his knives, so my opinion doesn't really count :) Im more interested in the waiting list over all the makers and pricing!

Price based on custom 240 Gyuto sanmai or damascus.

Bob Kramer: 4000 + - Unknown waiting list and time, you might never have one
Bill Burke: 1900 + - Waiting time 1 year +
Devin Thomas: 1900 + - Waiting time 1 year +
Murray Carter: ? + ?
Michael Rader: ? + had backorders for 8 month last time I checked
Pierre Rodrigues: 1200 - last time I checked 8 months
Marko: 400 - 6 months? (monosteel)
Dave: 400 - 6 months? (monosteel)

This is however highly guessed waiting time and prices. I have no clue of the rest, since they haven't got my attention yet :)
However: I truly believe Bill and Devins work are at par with Bobs work, they just don't have the marketing skills of bob, nor his great looks :p

I have had the pleasure to work with Bill, Devin, Pierre, Marko. All great guys. I hope for to work with carter, rader and dave someday soon. However Im not as rich as I once was, so my wallet is my limits. I probably never can afford going for a custom after the ones that are in the making :) But Hey: Im a home chef! No need for 20+ Guytos (actually I would do fine with just one)
 
tl;dr

While I'd like to say I'm not on the list because his knife designs just aren't my cup of tea, the bigger reason of course is that it's just way too rich for my blood!
 
I guess I'm on Kramer's lottery list, I still get the newsletter. It took almost four years for my number to come up the first time when he was only fulfilling orders sequentially.

Oivind, you always forget Kramer makes monosteel knives too. They are only $150 per inch.
 
All makers go mono steel.
Prices are about 50% off what I wrote ;)

But why go mono, when you can go sanmai or damascus? Woot! :)
 
I've been on the list for at least a couple years. If my name ever comes up (not likely) I will buys as much as I can afford (and then some) and hope that the bubble doesn't burst before I can turn around and sell it for a nice 10X profit :} Then I'll give some of the other makers a call...
 
If sharpness is the thing I rather go with a white from Carter...

People buying a 4000 knife from Bob, alas usually ends up never using it....
 
If sharpness is the thing I rather go with a white from Carter...

People buying a 4000 knife from Bob, alas usually ends up never using it....

Completely off topic but are you really a lesbian... Just read that for some reason and fell in shock
 
I loved my Kramer,it was one of my best performers.IMO I would say it's worth 90$ an inch not 150$.Capitalism makes this country what it is :thumbsup:.....So more power to Bob for making money doing something he loves!!!
 
I've been on the list for at least a couple years. If my name ever comes up (not likely) I will buys as much as I can afford (and then some) and hope that the bubble doesn't burst before I can turn around and sell it for a nice 10X profit :} Then I'll give some of the other makers a call...

Pretty much what I did. For several reasons, one being I knew I would never use it.
 
It's the sensible thing to do. I like to think that I would keep mine if my name ever came up, but when you see them go for 10k+ on ebay, that has to be pretty tempting...
 
I think a fair number of the people who have signed up recently are doing it to make money, which I entirely understand. Depending on how many people are doing it to make money vs. how many actually want them to own them, we may have an abundance of them on eBay in a few years.
 
I have been on the waiting list for a year or so, can't wait until my turn comes up. However, I cannot afford nor do I desire a damascus blade, so it'll be a 10" western chef's knife for me. At $1500 it's a substantial price, but I can't wait to see if the performance justifies the hype and compare it to the other excellent knives I own. If it's not a keeper, I'm sure I'll have no trouble whatsoever selling it.
 
I haven't seen many people "flipping" their Kramers. Their were a handful last year, but he's been making 200 per year for a decade. I think if you saw 10 a month showing up on eBay, the premium would drop pretty fast.
 
Have any been auctioned since the Shun Kramer's came out? They're all over eBay now, I'm wondering if they might take a little demand out of the market for the custom stuff.
 
^^ you mean the Zwellings? The Shun Kramers have been our for years, and are stainless steel, etc. But even the Zwellings will probably not make a dent in real Kramer prices, as they are not *produced* by BK, but instead by workers in a Japanese factory. And from what has been posted so far, the heat treat does not seem quite as good because they seem to lose their edge a bit quicker.
 
I've been on it the newsletter list for 2-3 years, but I don't trust these lists really. He said that he pulls 'names' from it chronologically and randomly. It is all kind of vague, and the newsletter list probably contains thousands of people that have no intention of ordering a knife. If someone chooses not to order, is that name passed on to the next person? How many names are chosen? And keep in mind that names are pulled only every six weeks (8 times per year basically).

If someone says 'no' to a Kramer, he really has no incentive to offer that 'spot' to someone else as he can just sell it on eBay for much more.

Has anyone here had their name drawn since he quit his waiting list and went to the e-mail list?

k.
 
Has anyone here had their name drawn since he quit his waiting list and went to the e-mail list?

k.

Good question, I know that he said in his last newsletter "Don't worry, if you're reading this--you're on the list. Hang in there!"

Also if anyone got it you know that they will be introducing ready made knives. Knives made by Bob, but not customized.
 
I am not really sure why it seems a lot of people on here think Kramers knives are so ridiculously priced. His damascus are 400 an inch so a 10in would be 4k. I realize it is a ton of money but not too long ago Carter was selling a damascus deba for 3500+ i believe and people have nothing but good things to say about him while people seem to criticize Kramer a lot on here. not to mention Kramer's damascus patterns are more impressive. I have had to pleasure to use (not own), a meiji handled Kramer and it felt, looked, and cut amazingly. Just my thoughts here.

Mike
 
Bob Kramer should be careful to balance making money vs creating a bubble. Anyone remember learning about the Netherlands and Tulips?

I think these waiting lists are kinda absurd. I really understand the idea of having an artisan-made knife, but to me, even if I had the money, I'd rather buy one from someone else and come up with 2k some other time than pay out and wait a year and a half to get my order even started. I think they would make more sense to me if they functioned as a way of curtailing obsession on one artist, but people instead just pay out and wait for yeeeaarrs for a knife from one of like 5 guys.
 
Bob Kramer should be careful to balance making money vs creating a bubble. Anyone remember learning about the Netherlands and Tulips?

I think these waiting lists are kinda absurd. I really understand the idea of having an artisan-made knife, but to me, even if I had the money, I'd rather buy one from someone else and come up with 2k some other time than pay out and wait a year and a half to get my order even started. I think they would make more sense to me if they functioned as a way of curtailing obsession on one artist, but people instead just pay out and wait for yeeeaarrs for a knife from one of like 5 guys.

Does watching Wall Street II: Money Never Sleeps count as learning about it?

I understand where both sides are coming from, but if you have the money - why not? Great knife from a great craftsman, and right now at least it is worth more than what you buy it for.
 
Well, I'm saying that if you are going to use/collect it, it is a hellishly long wait time. It would seem that it would serve as a natural balancing tool to prevent everyone from jumping on the same bandwagon...just let the guy catch up and place new orders when the pace is more reasonable--waiting patiently is one thing, waiting 2 years is really time off your life!

As far as the financial side goes, I was suggesting that if you get your money tied up in one of his knives because they are worth so much, when the bubble pops in, for example, 2013, you are left with a knife that is essentially worthless beyond it's function as a cutting tool. And don't think they will always trend upward. We all know where that kind of thinking gets us!
 
Not to mention when your name does come up you don't really have that much time to come up with the dough. Just make sure you have room on your credit card at all times.
 
Has anyone gotten on the list recently? In the old days, you were quoted a price for a specific knife and given an approximate delivery date, like 3 years. He was still delivering knives under the old price schedule until this year.

It sounds like now you just add your name and pay market price when you get the call, so you can't even lock in today's price.
 
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